NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jan 28 – Children with Crohn’s disease exhibit deficits in muscle and bone that are unrelated to steroid treatment, and that do not completely resolve with treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Gastroenterology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jan 28 – Children with Crohn’s disease exhibit deficits in muscle and bone that are unrelated to steroid treatment, and that do not completely resolve with treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Gastroenterology.

“Many physicians attribute the bone disease in inflammatory bowel disease to the effects of glucocorticoid therapy,” Dr. Mary B. Leonard, from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told Reuters Health. “However, these kids had bad bone disease prior to any glucocorticoid therapy, and glucocorticoids were not associated with progression of bone disease.”

Dr. Leonard and colleagues used peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) to measure bone and muscle parameters in children with Crohn’s disease before and after glucocorticoid therapy.

Trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) and bone loss on the inner cortical surface were apparent in children with Crohn’s disease before glucocorticoid treatment, compared with a cross-sectional sample of healthy controls, the authors report.

Crohn’s disease patients also had lower body-mass indices (BMI) and lower muscle cross-sectional area than did controls.

One year of treatment with glucocorticoids produced significant improvements in Crohn’s disease activity scores, the researchers note, and these improvements were accompanied by improvements in BMI, muscle, and fat parameters.

Despite treatment and symptomatic improvement, though, the children continued to have significantly lower trabecular BMD and muscle scores than controls.

The persistence of deficits was surprising. “We thought that the bone would improve more rapidly as the underlying inflammatory bowel disease was treated and children received nutritional support,” Dr. Leonard said.

“The muscle and bone structural findings obtained at baseline emphasize the need to test nutritional interventions in these patients, as well as the effect of ‘anabolic’ agents, therapies that may both significantly impact lean muscle mass and enhance bone strength,” writes Dr. Catherine M. Gordon from Children’s Hospital Boston in a related editorial.

Dr. Leonard also mentioned a new strategy that her group is testing. “Based on the findings in these children, the NIH awarded us $3 million to conduct a study of whole body vibration as a therapy to improve bone health in children with Crohn’s disease,” she explained. “The study (‘Healthy Vibrations’) is underway. We have enrolled 81 children to date and have installed vibrating platforms in the homes where the children and adolescents will do daily 10 minute treatments for 12 months. We hope to enroll an additional 79 children over the coming year.”